Investing responsibly in sustainable aquaculture
Bangkok, 22-24 October 2024. As part of various FAO initiatives to promote and support sustainable aquaculture, the Development Law Service (LEGN) has been contributing to the development of a new FAO guide for enhancing responsible private investments for sustainable aquaculture. This practical guide offers detailed actionable steps to governments, private investors, and financiers on how they can support, enable, and enhance responsible private investments for sustainable aquaculture. Such an effort is in line with the Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture (endorsed at the 36th Session of the Committee on Fisheries, in July this year), the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (specifically Article 6 on aquaculture development), the Blue Transformation Roadmap 2022–2030 (specifically core component 1 on aquaculture), and the Technical Guidelines on the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture.
The draft version of the guide to which LEGN contributed, was validated at an experts’ workshop held in Bangkok, from 22 to 24 November. The advanced draft was discussed thoroughly by a multidisciplinary stakeholder team, with about 25 experts from countries around the world, including representatives from government institutions, private sector, farmers, financial institutions, and micro-finance banks and insurance companies.
Among other legal issues, LEGN raised the importance of the Principles for Responsible Investments in Agriculture and Food Systems (RAI), which applies to aquaculture as well, and the need to undertake environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) in the process of establishing, mapping and updating aquaculture development zones.
Other recent LEGN initiatives on sustainable aquaculture include the Aquaculture Legal Assessment and Revision Tool (ALART) and its accompanying Legal Study, which are key tools to assess and review a country’s national legal framework and evaluate the extent to which it supports sustainable aquaculture development, pursuant to the applicable international law and standards.
For more information, please contact [email protected].